System and method for automatically authenticating a caller

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the disclosed technology include systems and methods that can establish a communication link with a customer device, can receive call information from the customer device, can retrieve a customer profile based on a comparison of the call information to stored call information, and can save the customer profile as temporary profile data. Embodiments can receive identifying information from the customer device and, responsive to determining, based on a comparison of the identifying information to the temporary profile data, that the communication link is authenticated, connect the communication link to an authenticated call path. Responsive to determining that a predetermined amount of time has elapsed without determining that the communication link is authenticated, embodiments can determine that the communication link is unauthenticated and can connect the communication link to an unauthenticated call path and delete the temporary profile data.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 15/830,730, filed Dec. 4, 2017, which is acontinuation of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No.15/297,453, filed Oct. 19, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S.Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 14,480,842, filed Sep. 9,2014, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 61/875,251, filed Sep. 9, 2013, the entirety of which are hereinincorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for using a mobiledevice to securely and automatically authenticate a caller's identity.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Currently, when an account holder at a financial institution encountersa problem with his account, he generally must call a customer servicerepresentative from the financial institution. As part of the call, thecaller must provide authenticating information to the customer servicerepresentative (or to an automated system), such as an account number,social security number, and/or vocal sample to provide proof of identity(e.g., authenticate the customer) and proceed with the call and receiveassistance. This adds delays and inconvenience for the caller who istrying to resolve an issue or have a question answered and can lead to apoor customer experience.

These and other drawbacks exist.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the present disclosure, together with furtherobjects and advantages, may best be understood by reference to thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in the several Figures of which like reference numeralsidentify like elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a schematic diagram of a system for automaticallyauthenticating a caller's identity, according to an example embodimentof the disclosure;

FIG. 2 depicts a diagram of a system for automatically authenticating acaller's identify, according to an example embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of a method for automaticallyauthenticating a caller's identity, according to an example embodimentof the disclosure; and

FIG. 4 depicts a schematic diagram of a system for automaticallyauthenticating a caller's identity, according to an example embodimentof the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The following description is intended to convey a thorough understandingof the embodiments described by providing a number of specific exampleembodiments and details involving systems and methods for automaticallyauthenticating a caller's identity. It should be appreciated, however,that the present disclosure is not limited to these specific embodimentsand details, which are examples only. It is further understood that onepossessing ordinary skill in the art, in light of known systems andmethods, would appreciate the use of the invention for its intendedpurposes and benefits in any number of alternative embodiments,depending on specific design and other needs. A financial institutionand system supporting a financial institution are used as examples forthe disclosure. The disclosure is not intended to be limited tofinancial institutions only. The description below describes servers,devices, and network elements that may include one or more modules, someof which are explicitly shown, others are not. As used herein, the term“module” may be understood to refer to computing software, firmware,hardware, and/or various combinations thereof. It is noted that themodules are examples. The modules may be combined, integrated,separated, and/or duplicated to support various applications. Also, afunction described herein as being performed at a particular module maybe performed at one or more other modules and/or by one or more otherdevices instead of or in addition to the function performed at theparticular module. Further, the modules may be implemented acrossmultiple devices and/or other components local or remote to one another.Additionally, the modules may be moved from one device and added toanother device, and/or may be included in both devices.

FIG. 1 depicts an example embodiment of a system 100 for automaticallyauthenticating a caller's identity, according to various embodiments ofthe disclosure. The system may include various network-enabled computersystems, including, as depicted in FIG. 1 for example, a financialinstitution 101, which may include one or more network-enabledcomputers, including a call processor 102, an authentication processor103, and a profile database 104, which may be included as separateprocessors or combined into device having a single processor or devicehaving the multiple processors. It is also noted that the system 100illustrates only a single instance of each component. It will beappreciated that multiple instances of these components may be used.Moreover, the system 100 may include other devices not depicted in FIG.1.

In various embodiments, the authentication processor 103, profiledatabase 104, and/or the call processor 102 may be separate fromfinancial institution 101. As referred to herein, a network-enabledcomputer system and/or device may include, but is not limited to: e.g.,any computer device, or communications device including, e.g., a server,a network appliance, a personal computer (PC), a workstation, a mobiledevice, a phone, a handheld PC, a personal digital assistant (PDA), athin client, a fat client, an Internet browser, or other device. Thenetwork-enabled computer systems may execute one or more softwareapplications to, for example, receive data as input from an entityaccessing the network-enabled computer system, process received data,transmit data over a network, and receive data over a network. The oneor more network-enabled computer systems may also include one or moresoftware applications to enable the creation and provisioning of accountservices to mobile device 105, such as Caller authentication application110. In various embodiments, caller authentication application may beassociated with and/or integrated into, for example, a mobileapplication of a financial institution.

The components depicted in FIG. 1 may store information in variouselectronic storage media, such as, for example, profile database 104.Electronic information, files, and documents may be stored in variousways, including, for example, a flat file, indexed file, hierarchicaldatabase, relational database, such as a coupon database created andmaintained with software from, for example, Oracle® Corporation,Microsoft® Excel file, Microsoft® Access file, or any other storagemechanism.

The components depicted in FIG. 1 may be coupled via one or morenetworks, such as, for example, network 108. Network 108 may be one ormore of a wireless network, a wired network or any combination ofwireless network and wired network. For example, network 108 may includeone or more of a fiber optics network, a passive optical network, acable network, an Internet network, a satellite network, a wireless LAN,a Global System for Mobile Communication (“GSM”), a PersonalCommunication Service (“PCS”), a Personal Area Network (“PAN”), D-AMPS,Wi-Fi, Fixed Wireless Data, IEEE 802.11b, 802.15.1, 802.11n and 802.11gor any other wired or wireless network for transmitting and receiving adata signal.

In addition, network 108 may include, without limitation, telephonelines, fiber optics, IEEE Ethernet 902.3, a wide area network (“WAN”), alocal area network (“LAN”), or a global network such as the Internet.Also network 108 may support an Internet network, a wirelesscommunication network, a cellular network, or the like, or anycombination thereof. Network 108 may further include one network, or anynumber of the example types of networks mentioned above, operating as astand-alone network or in cooperation with each other. Network 108 mayutilize one or more protocols of one or more network elements to whichthey are communicatively coupled. Network 108 may translate to or fromother protocols to one or more protocols of network devices. Althoughnetwork 108 is depicted as a single network, it should be appreciatedthat according to one or more embodiments, network 108 may comprise aplurality of interconnected networks, such as, for example, theInternet, a service provider's network, a cable television network,corporate networks, and home networks.

As shown in FIG. 1, Financial institution 101 may include call center109. Call center 109 may be configured to receive telephone calls madeto financial institution 101, such as customer service calls. Callcenter 109 may comprise one or more network-enabled computers operatedby customer service representatives. Call center 109 may be locatedseparately from financial institution 101, and may be operated by athird party. When caller 107 places a call to financial institution 101,the call may be routed through network 108 to be received at call center109, as will be explained in greater detail below.

Call center 109 may include a path for unauthenticated calls 109 a, anda path for authenticated calls 109 b. Unauthenticated calls 109 a may bedirected to customer service representatives or automated systems (e.g.,Interactive Voice Response units (IVRs))) that may request identifyinginformation from the caller before the caller can proceed further.Authenticated calls 109 b will be directed to customer servicerepresentatives or automated systems that may not request identifyinginformation from the caller, because the identifying information hasalready been provided to authentication processor 103 and call processor102, as will be described below.

In various example embodiments, caller 107 may be any individual orentity that desires to contact financial institution 101. Caller 107 mayhave on or more accounts with financial institution 101. Also, a callermay be a computer system associated with or operated by such anindividual or entity.

Financial institution 101 may be, for example, a bank (e.g., a retailbank, direct bank, and/or commercial bank), other type of financialinstitution, including a credit card and/or debit card provider,brokerage services provider, for example, and/or any other entity thatoffers accounts to customers. An account may include any place,location, object, entity, or other mechanism for holding money orperforming transactions in any form, including, without limitation,electronic form. An account may be, for example, a credit card account,a prepaid card account, stored value card account, debit card account,check card account, payroll card account, gift card account, prepaidcredit card account, charge card account, checking account, rewardsaccount, line of credit account, credit account, mobile device account,an account or service that links to an underlying payment accountalready described, or mobile commerce account. An account may or may nothave an associated card, such as, for example, a credit card for acredit account or a debit card for a debit account. The account mayenable payment using biometric authentication, or contactless basedforms of authentication, such as QR codes or near-field communications.The account card may be associated or affiliated with one or more socialnetworking sites, such as a co-branded credit card.

Caller 107 may have one or more mobile devices, such as mobile device105. Mobile device 105 may be, for example, a handheld PC, a phone, asmartphone, a PDA, a tablet computer, wearable device, or other device.Mobile device 105 may be able to make telephone calls, such as telephonecall 106 a. Telephone call 106 a may be over network 108. Telephone call106 a may be over a separate network from network 108 (not shown).Telephone call 106 a may be a wireless call over a cellular network, alandline call using the public-switched telephone network (PSTN), and/ora Voice over IP (VoIP) call.

Mobile device 105 may include one or more software applications, such asCaller authentication application 110. Caller authentication application110 may be downloaded onto mobile device 105 over network 108. Callerauthentication application 110 may be pre-installed on mobile device105. For example, caller authentication application 110 may beassociated with and/or integrated into, for example, a mobileapplication of the financial institution. Caller authenticationapplication 110 may be a software application that enables mobile device105 to transmit information to authentication processor 103, such asdata transfer 106 b. Telephone call 106 a and/or data transfer 106 b mayutilize Signaling System Number 7 (SS7). Telephone call 106 a and/ordata transfer 106 b also may be transmitted and received utilizingSession Initiation Protocol (“SIP”) or H.323. In other embodiments, thetelephone call 106 a may be transmitted and/or received utilizing usingVoice Over IP (“VOIP”). Telephone call 106 a and/or data transfer 106 bmay be transmitted and/or received using Voice Over LTE (“VoLTE”) ormessaging protocols. Data also may be transmitted and/or received usingWireless Application Protocol (“WAP”), Multimedia Messaging Service(“MMS”), Enhanced Messaging Service (“EMS”), Short Message Service(“SMS”), Global System for Mobile Communications (“GSM”) based systems,Code Division Multiple Access (“CDMA”) based systems, TransmissionControl Protocol/Internet (“TCP/IP”) Protocols, or other protocols andsystems suitable for transmitting and receiving broadcast or parallelsearch data.

FIG. 4 depicts an example system 400 that may enable a financialinstitution, for example, to provide network services to its customers.For example, system 400 may enable a user of a client device to use acaller authentication application on a client device to authenticate thecaller with the financial institution via a data transfer from, forexample, a client device to backend 418. As shown in FIG. 4, system 400may include a client device 402, a network 404, a front-end controlleddomain 406, a back-end controlled domain 412, and a backend 418.Front-end controlled domain 406 may include one or more load balancers408 and one or more web servers 410. Back-end controlled domain 412 mayinclude one or more load balancers 414 and one or more applicationservers 416.

Client device 402 may be a network-enabled computer: As referred toherein, a network-enabled computer may include, but is not limited to:e.g., any computer device, or communications device including, e.g., aserver, a network appliance, a personal computer (PC), a workstation, amobile device, a phone, a handheld PC, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a thin client, a fat client, an Internet browser, or otherdevice. The one or more network-enabled computers of the example system400 may execute one or more software applications to enable, forexample, network communications.

Client device 402 also may be a mobile device: For example, a mobiledevice may include an iPhone, iPod, iPad from Apple® or any other mobiledevice running Apple's iOS operating system, any device running Google'sAndroid® operating system, including for example, Google's wearabledevice, Google Glass, any device running Microsoft's Windows® Mobileoperating system, and/or any other smartphone or like wearable mobiledevice.

Network 404 may be one or more of a wireless network, a wired network,or any combination of a wireless network and a wired network. Forexample, network 404 may include one or more of a fiber optics network,a passive optical network, a cable network, an Internet network, asatellite network, a wireless LAN, a Global System for MobileCommunication (GSM), a Personal Communication Service (PCS), a PersonalArea Networks, (PAN), D-AMPS, Wi-Fi, Fixed Wireless Data, IEEE 802.11b,802.15.1, 802.11n, and 802.11g or any other wired or wireless networkfor transmitting and receiving a data signal.

In addition, network 404 may include, without limitation, telephonelines, fiber optics, IEEE Ethernet 902.3, a wide area network (WAN), alocal area network (LAN) or a global network such as the Internet. Also,network 404 may support an Internet network, a wireless communicationnetwork, a cellular network, or the like, or any combination thereof.Network 404 may further include one network, or any number of exampletypes of networks mentioned above, operating as a stand-alone network orin cooperation with each other. Network 404 may utilize one or moreprotocols of one or more network elements to which they arecommunicatively couples. Network 404 may translate to or from otherprotocols to one or more protocols of network devices. Although network404 is depicted as a single network, it should be appreciated thataccording to one or more embodiments, network 404 may comprise aplurality of interconnected networks, such as, for example, theInternet, a service provider's network, a cable television network,corporate networks, and home networks.

Front-end controlled domain 406 may be implemented to to providesecurity for backend 418. Load balancer(s) 408 may distribute workloadsacross multiple computing resources, such as, for example computers, acomputer cluster, network links, central processing units or diskdrives. In various embodiments, load balancer(s) 410 may distributeworkloads across, for example, web server(S) 416 and/or backend 418systems. Load balancing aims to optimize resource use, maximizethroughput, minimize response time, and avoid overload of any one of theresources. Using multiple components with load balancing instead of asingle component may increase reliability through redundancy. Loadbalancing is usually provided by dedicated software or hardware, such asa multilayer switch or a Domain Name System (DNS) server process.

Load balancer(s) 408 may include software that monitoring the port whereexternal clients, such as, for example, client device 402, connect toaccess various services of a financial institution, for example. Loadbalancer(s) 408 may forward requests to one of the application servers416 and/or backend 418 servers, which may then reply to load balancer408. This may allow load balancer(s) 408 to reply to client device 402without client device 402 ever knowing about the internal separation offunctions. It also may prevent client devices from contacting backendservers directly, which may have security benefits by hiding thestructure of the internal network and preventing attacks on backend 418or unrelated services running on other ports, for example.

A variety of scheduling algorithms may be used by load balancer(s) 408to determine which backend server to send a request to. Simplealgorithms may include, for example, random choice or round robin. Loadbalancers 408 also may account for additional factors, such as aserver's reported load, recent response times, up/down status(determined by a monitoring poll of some kind), number of activeconnections, geographic location, capabilities, or how much traffic ithas recently been assigned.

Load balancers 408 may be implemented in hardware and/or software. Loadbalancer(s) 408 may implement numerous features, including, withoutlimitation: asymmetric loading; Priority activation: SSL Offload andAcceleration; Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack protection;HTTP compression; TCP offloading; TCP buffering; direct server return;health checking; HTTP caching; content filtering; HTTP security;priority queuing; rate shaping; content-aware switching; clientauthentication; programmatic traffic manipulation; firewall; intrusionprevention systems.

Web server(s) 410 may include hardware (e.g., one or more computers)and/or software (e.g., one or more applications) that deliver webcontent that can be accessed by, for example a client device (e.g.,client device 402) through a network (e.g., network 404), such as theInternet. In various examples, web servers, may deliver web pages,relating to, for example, online banking applications and the like, toclients (e.g., client device 402). Web server(s) 410 may use, forexample, a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP or sHTTP) to communicatewith client device 402. The web pages delivered to client device mayinclude, for example, HTML documents, which may include images, stylesheets and scripts in addition to text content.

A user agent, such as, for example, a web browser, web crawler, ornative mobile application, may initiate communication by making arequest for a specific resource using HTTP and web server 410 mayrespond with the content of that resource or an error message if unableto do so. The resource may be, for example a file on stored on backend418. Web server(s) 410 also may enable or facilitate receiving contentfrom client device 402 so client device AO2 may be able to, for example,submit web forms, including uploading of files.

Web server(s) also may support server-side scripting using, for example,Active Server Pages (ASP), PHP, or other scripting languages.Accordingly, the behavior of web server(s) 410 can be scripted inseparate files, while the actual server software remains unchanged.

Load balancers 414 may be similar to load balancers 408 as describedabove.

Application server(s) 416 may include hardware and/or software that isdedicated to the efficient execution of procedures (e.g., programs,routines, scripts) for supporting its applied applications. Applicationserver(s) 416 may comprise one or more application server frameworks,including, for example, Java application servers (e.g., Java platform,Enterprise Edition (Java EE), the .NET framework from Microsoft®, PHPapplication servers, and the like). The various application serverframeworks may contain a comprehensive service layer model. Also,application server(s) 416 may act as a set of components accessible to,for example, a financial institution or other entity implementing system400,through an API defined by the platform itself. For Web applications,these components may be performed in, for example, the same runningenvironment as web server(s) 410, and application servers 416 maysupport the construction of dynamic pages. Application server(s) 416also may implement services, such as, for example, clustering,fail-over, and load-balancing. In various embodiments, where applicationserver(s) 416 are Java application servers, the web server(s) 416 maybehaves like an extended virtual machine for running applications,transparently handling connections to databases associated with backend418 on one side, and, connections to the Web client (e.g., client device402) on the other.

Backend 418 may include hardware and/or software that enables thebackend services of, for example, a financial institution or otherentity that maintains a distributes system similar to system 400. Forexample, backend 418 may include, a system of record, online bankingapplications, a rewards platform, a payments platform, a lendingplatform, including the various services associated with, for example,auto and home lending platforms, a statement processing platform, a callcenter system, a caller authentication system, one or more platformsthat provide mobile services, one or more platforms that provide onlineservices, a card provisioning platform, a general ledger system, and thelike. Backend 418 may be associated with various databases, includingaccount databases that maintain, for example, customer accountinformation, product databases that maintain information about productsand services available to customers, content databases that storecontent associated with, for example, a financial institution, and thelike. Backend 418 also may be associated with one or more servers thatenable the various services provided by system 400.

Referring now to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the componentsof the Caller authentication Application 110 according to an exampleembodiment of the disclosure. Caller authentication application 110 maybe a stand-alone application on the mobile device that provides thefunctionality described herein. As noted above, the functionality of thecaller authentication application 110 may be included as part of alarger mobile application for mobile banking, such as a mobile bankingapplication provided by financial institution 101 and/or a third party.

As shown in FIG. 2, Caller authentication application 110 may includeone or more modules to provide various functionalities associated withproviding automatic caller identification in accordance with theembodiments of the present disclosure. In the example embodiment shownin FIG. 2, Caller authentication application 110 may include a userinterface module 201, a profile module 202, a telephony module 203, anda services module 204. The operation of these modules will be explainedin greater detail in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2.

User interface module 201 may provide caller 107 with an interactiveseries of displays on a mobile device (e.g., mobile device 105) thatallow caller 107 to input information using a keypad or touchscreen onmobile device 105. When a caller 107 activates Caller authenticationapplication 110 on his mobile device 105 for the first time, userinterface module 201 may prompt caller 107 to register his identifyinginformation. Identifying information may be a username, a password,social security number, one or more account numbers for accounts thatcaller 107 has with financial institution 101, name, address, one ormore phone numbers associated with mobile device 105, email address, andbiometric information. The financial institution may predetermine orpreselect which identifying information it will require to authenticatea caller. The financial institution may, from time-to-time, change thisidentifying information and require the user to re-register the requiredidentifying information. This identifying information may be provided toprofile module 202. Thereafter, when caller 107 activates Callerauthentication application 110, user interface module 201 may prompt thecaller to enter the username and/or password in order to proceed. Userinterface module 201 also may prompt the caller to provide biometricinformation (such as a fingerprint, retinal scan, or voice sample) inorder to proceed.

Profile module 202 may store the identifying information received fromuser interface module 201. In various embodiments, profile module 202may store identifying information in, for example, a universalintegrated circuit card (UICC) and/or secure element associated with themobile device. The first time profile module 202 receives theidentifying information, profile module 202 may register the identifyinginformation with financial institution 101 by securely transmitting theidentifying information to authentication processor 103 using datatransfer 106 b. Data transfer 106 b may be an encrypted data transfer.Authentication processor 103 may compare the identifying information toaccount information stored at financial institution 101 to ensure thatthe user associated with the identifying information has an account withfinancial institution 101. Authentication processor 103 may then storethe identifying information in profile database 104 where it isassociated with caller 107. At this point, caller 107 will have aprofile in profile database 104 that includes the identifyinginformation, account number(s), caller 107's telephone number(s) formobile device 105, and other information that uniquely identifies caller107.

Caller 107 also may register the identifying information directly tofinancial institution 101 using one or more websites provided by, forexample, financial institution 101 and/or a third party associated withfinancial institution 101.

Telephony module 203 may allow caller 107 to make a telephone call tofinancial institution 101 and/or call center 109. Telephony module 203may provide caller 107 with an interface to dial a phone numberassociated with financial institution 101, or click or press a hyperlinkor button to automatically dial the number for financial institution101. When caller 107 dials the number for financial institution 101and/or call center 109, telephony module 203 may interact with mobiledevice 105 (via, for example, an application programming interface (API)on the mobile device) to place the call (for example, via telephone call106a) to financial institution 101. Telephony module 203 also may beincorporated in a mobile device and, in such an embodiment, callerauthentication application may include an API to interact with telephonymodule 203. At the same time, telephony module 203 may signal profilemodule 202 to securely transmit caller 107's identifying information toauthentication processor 103 (for example, via data transfer 106 b).This process will be described in greater detail in connection with FIG.3.

In various embodiments, telephony module 203 may be configured torecognize when caller 107 dials the number associated with financialinstitution 101 and/or call center 109 from mobile phone 105, even ifcaller 107 has not opened the Caller authentication application 110. Iftelephony module 203 detects that caller 107 has dialed the number forfinancial institution 101, telephony module 203 may generate an alert tocaller 107 on mobile device 105 and ask them to confirm the call. Ifcaller 107 confirms, such as by entering a username, password, biometricinformation, or other identifying information, telephony module 203 maysignal profile module 202 to transmit the identifying information toauthentication processor 103. In other embodiments, profile module 202may automatically transmit the identifying information to authenticationprocessor 103 when telephony module 203 detects a call being made bycaller 107 to financial institution 101.

Services module 204 may be configured to present caller 107 with one ormore services options that caller 107 can select for transmitting tofinancial institution 101 along with the telephone call 106 a. Theservices options may allow the caller to specify the type of service orquestion(s) that the caller would like answered. For example, theservices options may include “changing account information”, “changingcontact information”, “bill payments”, “ordering a new card”,“lost/stolen card”, “ordering new checks”, or other options. Servicesmodule 204 may present these options to the caller 107 on one or moreinteractive screens on mobile device 105 when caller 107 has openedCaller authentication application 110. Services module 204 may presentthese options to caller 107 when caller 107 dials the number forfinancial institution 101. Services module 204 may receive the caller'sselections and store them. Services module 204 may transmit the servicesoptions to authentication processor 103 and/or call processor 102 whencaller 107 makes a call to financial institution 101 and/or call center109.

Once mobile device 105 has initiated telephone call 106 a to financialservices 101 and/or call center 109, the call information may bereceived by call processor 102. The call information may include thenumber for mobile device 105. Call processor 102 may compare the callinformation to the profiles stored in profile database 104. If callprocessor 102 matches the calling number with a number associated withone of the profiles in profile database 104, call processor 102 mayretrieve the profile information and, for example, temporarily store it.In various embodiments, the profile information may be temporarilystored in a queue or stack. Call processor 102 may wait forauthentication processor 103 to receive identifying information frommobile device 105, as will be described below. If authenticationprocessor 103 does not receive the correct identifying informationwithin, for example, a predetermined amount of time, call processor 102may delete the profile from the queue or stack, and automatically routetelephone call 106 a to the path for unauthenticated calls 109 a.Unauthenticated calls 109 a may be routed to a customer servicerepresentative or automated system that will verbally requestidentifying information from caller 107, such as through a voiceresponse unit (VRU). Caller 107 must then provide identifyinginformation to the customer service representative or automated systembefore receiving further assistance.

When mobile device 105 initiates a telephone call 106 a to financialinstitution 101 and/or call center 109 (either using Callerauthentication application 110 or detected by Caller authenticationapplication 110), profile module 202 may simultaneously transmits atleast some of the identifying information to authentication processor103 via data transfer 106 b. In various embodiments, the identifyinginformation may be transmitted as one or more secure tokens. Theidentifying information may be encrypted. Also, user interface module201 may require the caller to enter a username and/or password or PIN,for example, before profile module 202 transmits the identifyinginformation along with the call.

When authentication processor 103 receives the identifying information,it may compare the received information with the profiles stored inprofile database 104. As stated above, if the caller has previouslyregistered identifying information with financial institution 101, thatidentifying information would be stored in the caller's profile inprofile database 104. When authentication processor 103 later receivesidentifying information as part of the caller placing a call tofinancial institution 101, authentication processor 103 will compare thereceived identifying information with the one or more profilestemporarily stored by call processor 102. The received identifyinginformation may include one or more of the caller's account number, SSN,username, password, email address, phone number, physical address,biometric information, and other information that uniquely identifiesthe caller. If at least some of the received identifying informationmatches the information in one of the one or more profiles that wasretrieved by call processor 102, call processor 102 may route thetelephone call received from mobile device 105 to the path forauthenticated calls 109 b. Authenticated calls 109 b are routed tocustomer service representative or automated systems at call center 109that will not request identifying information directly from the caller107.

For example, if mobile device has the number (925) 123-4567 and places acall to financial institution 101, call processor 102 will receive thecall information and compare the number (925-123-4567) with the numbersin each profile in profile database 104. If it finds a match, callprocessor 102 will retrieve the matching profile and temporarily hold it(for example, in a queue) for a set period of time. The set period oftime may be preprogrammed into the call processor 102. It may be, forexample, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 30 seconds, or some other predeterminedamount of time. During this period of time, authentication processor 103may receive identifying information (via, for example, data transfer 106b) from the mobile device having the number (925) 123-4567.Authentication processor 103 may compare the received identifyinginformation with the profile or profiles stored in the queue with callprocessor 102. If at least some of the identifying information matchesthe profile associated with the number (925) 123-4567 at call processor102, call processor 102 may determine that the call from (925) 123-4567is authenticated and will connect the call to the path for authenticatedcalls 109 b. In this way, the call from (925) 123-4567 can automaticallybypass the path for unauthenticated calls 109 a, and the caller does nothave to go through the extra steps of providing identifying informationto an automated system or customer services representative.

In an example embodiment, the mobile device may transmit the servicesinformation along with the identifying information to authenticationprocessor 103. If the identifying information is matched to a profile asdescribed above, the call processor 102 may use the services informationto connect the call from the mobile device to the correct customerservices representative in the path for authenticated calls 109 b. Forexample, if the services information indicates that the caller has losthis card, call processor 102 may receive this information and connectand/or the call to the correct department within call center 109 orfinancial institution 101 that can address this specific issue.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method 300 for automaticallyauthenticating a caller. The method 300 shown in FIG. 3 may be executedor otherwise performed by one or more combinations of various systems.The method 300 as described below may be carried out by the system forautomatically authenticating a caller from a mobile device, as shown inFIGS. 1, 2 and 4, by way of example, and various elements of that systemare referenced in explaining the method of FIG. 3. Each block shown inFIG. 3 represents one or more processes, methods, or subroutines in theexample method 300. Referring to FIG. 3, the example method 300 maybegin at block 301.

At block 301, caller 107 may register identifying information. In oneexample, caller A may have a credit card account with Bank X. Caller Aalso may register identifying information with Bank X on a websiteprovided by Bank X. Caller A may use an Caller authenticationapplication on a mobile device (e.g., iPhone) to register hisidentifying information. The identifying information may, for example,include Caller A's name, username, password, account number, socialsecurity number, email address, phone number for the iPhone, streetaddress, work address, biometric information, or other information thatpersonally identifies caller A. The Caller authentication application onthe iPhone may store the identifying information on the iPhone as asecure file and/or in a UICC or secure element. The financialinstitution may create a profile for caller A and store the identifyinginformation with that profile in a database, associated with caller A'sphone number for his iPhone. Method 300 may proceed to block 302.

At block 302, caller A may open the Caller authentication application onhis iPhone. The Caller authentication application may present a loginscreen and require caller A to input a username and/or password. TheCaller authentication application may require caller A to input, forexample, biometric information, such as a voice sample or a fingerprint.If caller A supplies the correct information, method 300 may proceed toblock 303. If caller A does not supply the correct information, theCaller authentication application may provide one or more notificationsto caller A and request reentry the correct information. The Callerauthentication application login screen may allow caller A to contactfinancial institution 101 to request a new username and/or password.

At block 303, caller A may initiate a call to Bank X. The call may be awireless telephone call, for example. The call also may be a VOIP call.The call may be over a landline. Caller A may use the Callerauthentication application on the iPhone to dial the number for customerservice at Bank X. Caller A may use the default phone interface on hisiPhone and dial the number for Bank X, and the Caller authenticationapplication on his iPhone may automatically detect this action. The callmay be routed to Bank X through one or more networks as explained above.

In an example embodiment, when caller A dials the number for Bank X, theCaller authentication application may prompt the caller to select one ormore service options. Each service option may indicate a reason for thecall. In this example, Caller A may have previously lost his credit cardand may select a “lost card” service option on the touchscreen for hisiPhone.

At block 304, the Caller authentication application may transmitidentifying information to financial institution 101 at or near the timewhen the call is initiated at block 303. The identifying information mayhave been previously stored on caller A's iPhone, as described in block301. The identifying information may have been previously registeredwith Bank X, as described in block 301. The identifying information mayinclude the caller's account number, social security number, phonenumber, email addresses, physical address, full name, birthdate,biometric information, username, password, or other information thatuniquely identifies caller A. The Caller authentication application mayalso transmit the services information that caller A selected at block303. In one embodiment, the Caller authentication application mayrequire caller A to enter his username and/or password beforetransmitting the identifying information.

At block 305, the Bank X may receive the call information. Callinformation may be received by call processor 102. Call information mayindicate that caller A is trying to contact Bank X in order to speakwith customer services. Call information may include the phone numberfor caller A's iPhone.

At block 306, call processor 102 may retrieve profile information forcaller A using the phone number from the call information. Profileinformation may be stored in profile database 104. Call processor 102may match the calling number with caller A's profile. Call processor 102may store caller A's profile in a queue for a predetermined amount oftime. The predetermined amount of time may be 30 seconds.

At block 307, authentication processor 103 may receive the caller A'sidentifying information. The identifying information may be receivedover a network as encrypted data. Authentication processor 103 maydecrypt the identifying information. The identifying information may betransmitted via, for example, a data transfer.

At block 308, authentication processor 103 may compare the receivedidentifying information with the profile (or profiles) temporarilystored with call processor 102. The received identifying information mayinclude an account number that matches with the account number in callerA's profile that was retrieved by call processor 102 in step 306. Thereceived identifying information may include, for example, a socialsecurity number that matches the social security number in caller A'sprofile. The received identifying information may include a voice samplethat matches with a voice sample in caller A's profile. If one or morepieces of the identifying information received in step 308 match withone or more pieces of the profile retrieved in step 306, method 300proceeds to block 309. Otherwise, method 300 proceeds to block 310.Also, if authentication processor 103 does not receive identifyinginformation within a predetermined time after call processor 102receives the call information, method 300 may proceed to block 310.

At block 309, the call from caller A's iPhone may be routed to anauthenticated call path. The call may be routed to a customer servicesrepresentative or automated system that does not request any additionalidentifying information from caller A. The call from caller A also maybe routed to specific customer services representative or automatedsystem that responds to issues dealing with lost cards—based on theservices information provided by caller A.

If there is no match of identifying information, at block 310, the callfrom caller A's iPhone may be routed to an unauthenticated call path.The call may be routed to a customer services representative orautomated system that will request additional identifying informationfrom caller A. This also may occur if authentication processor neverreceived identifying information from caller A's iPhone within thepredetermined time after call processor 102 received the callinformation.

It is further noted that the software described herein may be tangiblyembodied in one of more physical media, such as, but not limited to, acompact disc (CD), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a floppy disk, a harddrive, read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), as well asother physical media capable of storing software, or combinationsthereof. Moreover, the figures illustrate various components (e.g.,servers, computers, processors, etc.) separately. The functionsdescribed as being performed at various components may be performed atother components, and the various components bay be combined orseparated. Other modifications also may be made.

In the preceding specification, various preferred embodiments have beendescribed with references to the accompanying drawings. It will,however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be madethereto, and additional embodiments may be implemented, withoutdeparting from the broader scope of the invention as set forth in theclaims that follow. The specification and drawings are accordingly to beregarded as an illustrative rather than restrictive sense.

1-16. (canceled)
 17. A system comprising: one or more processors; memorystoring instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors,cause the one or more processors to: establish a communication link witha customer device associated with a customer of an organization, theorganization being associated with the system; receive, from thecustomer device, call information; compare the received call informationto stored call information associated with one or more customer profilesstored in a profile database; responsive to determining that thereceived call information matches stored call information associatedwith an identified customer profile of the one or more customerprofiles, retrieve the identified customer profile; store, at atemporary storage location, the identified customer profile as temporaryprofile data; receive, from the customer device, identifyinginformation; compare the received identifying information to thetemporary profile data; responsive to determining that at least some ofthe received identifying information matches at least some of thetemporary profile data, determine that the communication link isauthenticated; responsive to determining that the communication link isauthenticated, connect the communication link to an authenticated callpath; responsive to determining that a predetermined amount of time haselapsed without determining that the communication link isauthenticated, determine that the communication link is unauthenticated;and responsive to determining that the communication link isunauthenticated, connect the communication link to an unauthenticatedcall path and delete the temporary profile data.
 18. The system of claim17, wherein the unauthenticated call path comprises an automatedinteractive voice response unit (IVRU).
 19. The system of claim 18,wherein the automated IVRU is configured to request identifyinginformation from the customer.
 20. The system of claim 18, wherein theunauthenticated call path comprises a customer service representative.21. The system of claim 17, wherein the system simultaneously receivesthe call information and the identifying information.
 22. The system ofclaim 17, wherein the identifying information is received as one or moresecure tokens.
 23. The system of claim 17, wherein the identifyinginformation is received as encrypted data.
 24. The system of claim 17,wherein the identifying information comprises at least one of ausername, a password, a social security number, an account number, aname, an address, a phone number, an email address, and biometric data.25. The system of claim 17, wherein the authenticated call pathcomprises an automated interactive voice response unit (IVRU).
 26. Thesystem of claim 17, wherein the instructions, when executed by the oneor more processors, further cause the one or more processors to:receive, from the customer device, services information indicative ofone or more service categories corresponding to one or more servicerequests of the customer; responsive to determining that thecommunication link is authenticated, identify, based on the servicesinformation, a pertinent customer service representative (CSR) of aplurality of CSRs; and connect the communication link to the pertinentCSR.
 27. The system of claim 26, wherein the instructions, when executedby the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processorsto: responsive to connecting the communication link to the pertinentCSR, transmitting, to the pertinent CSR, data indicative of at leastsome of the identified customer profile and the one or more servicerequests of the customer.
 28. The system of claim 17, wherein thecommunication link is established via at least one of an Internetnetwork, a satellite network, a wireless local-area network (LAN), aglobal system for mobile communication (GSM), a personal communicationservice (PCS), a person area network (PAN), a Wi-Fi network, a telephonenetwork, a cellular network, and a wireless communications network. 29.A method comprising: receiving registration information from a customerdevice associated with a customer of an organization, the organizationbeing associated with the system; storing the registration informationin a customer profile stored in a profile database; establishing acommunication link with the customer device; receiving, from thecustomer device, call information; comparing the received callinformation to stored call information associated with one or morecustomer profiles stored in the profile database; responsive todetermining that the received call information matches stored callinformation associated with an identified customer profile of the one ormore customer profiles, retrieving the identified customer profile;storing, at a temporary storage location, the identified customerprofile as temporary profile data; receiving, from the customer device,identifying information; comparing the received identifying informationto the temporary profile data; responsive to determining that at leastsome of the received identifying information matches at least some ofthe temporary profile data, determining that the communication link isauthenticated; responsive to determining that the communication link isauthenticated, connecting the communication link to an authenticatedcall path; responsive to determining that a predetermined amount of timehas elapsed without determining that the communication link isauthenticated, determining that the communication link isunauthenticated; and responsive to determining that the communicationlink is unauthenticated, connecting the communication link to anunauthenticated call path and delete the temporary profile data.
 30. Themethod of claim 29 further comprising: determining that registration ofthe customer profile must be renewed; transmitting, to the customerdevice, instructions to, when an application installed on the customerdevice is next activated, request entry of authentication credentialsassociated with the customer profile; receive, from the customer device,entered authentication credentials; responsive to determining that theentered authentication credentials match stored authenticationcredentials associated with the customer profile, determine that theregistration of the customer profile is renewed.